Smells and Bells and singing

Sunday June 5th

I wake up to a rainy day, and a temperature which is at least 15 degrees lower than yesterday.

Today is the rededication of St. Boniface, the Anglican church in Antwerp. After a request from the choir mistress for tenors and altos to help her out on this important occasion, I have volunteered, which I now slightly regret. So I set off at 11.15, my third visit to Antwerp in just three weeks time. When I stop to pick up a fellow chorister who will join me, I find her in bed and sick, so I will have to drive to Antwerp alone. The temperature rises gradually, and in Antwerp it is warm although overcast. The church is in the Jewish quarter of Antwerp. It always amazes me that the men here are so formally dressed in white shirts and black trousers, whatever the weather. The little boys playing in the street are dressed like their fathers, smaller replica's. Usually I come here on a Saturday when the area is very quiet. Today it is far more lively, with parents and children on bikes and walking in the streets.

Fortunately I have taken some sandwiches with me, for once in the church I notice there is no food till after the service which won't start till 3 o' clock. No coffee or drinks either.

It always makes me a bit nervous when I join a choir I am not familiar with. Will the regular members accept me or feel it as an intrusion instead of a help? Do I know the responses? Do I know what to do during the liturgy? But the choir director is a very inspiring young American woman who succeeds with a smile in welding the regular choir plus the extra's into a unity. The Parry – "I was glad..." - goes well and is sung with gusto and conviction, and so does the Mozart, a totally different piece of music. We sang a four 

part version of the Parry, not for double choir. Here is the original version. 

To my dismay I have to lead the procession in my borrowed robe which is very long. So I have to be careful not to make a faux-pas, literally that is. We gather in the vestry, the bishop and a lot of clergy in their most festive attire, and the full choir. It is bells and incense today, and although the incense is meant to go straight up to God, we have difficulty not choking on it in the congested space we are in. Fortunately the church is spacious and airy, so once there the incense doesn't irritate our vocal cords any more. The service is a most joyful occasion and the singing goes well, except for last three notes which I have been appointed to sing on my own in the Agnus Dei. There wasn't a lot of choice, as there are only three alto's, a regular one and two extra's from other choirs, myself included. The three of us have difficulty making enough noise to be heard, with six soprano's in the choir stalls opposite us. My hymnbook has miraculously disappeared during the break between the rehearsal and the robing. Fortunately almost all the hymns are unison and except for one I know them all. Today is the day of Boniface, so it is proper to rededicate the church of St. Boniface today. And we celebrate Ascension Day at the same time.

As befits an Anglican Church, there is a tea – tea, very thinly sliced sandwiches and cakes – in the garden between the vicarage and the church after the service. I must admit I am very thirsty and I can also do with a bite. It is nice to mix with people, some of them known to me, and to hear how much the congregation has appreciated and enjoyed the 

choir. At least I did not come here in vain.

Clergy and choir in equal measure

When I drive back the progress is slowed down considerably by traffic jams. I presume that many people are heading home after a four day break. It takes me almost an hour longer than usual to get home. When I leave Antwerp it is still warm and my thermometer registers 26 degrees. The further north I drive, the cooler it gets till I reach home and see to my dismay that it is only 17 degrees.